Does Sock have a chance today?

For most of the summer, it’s been uncharted territory for 19-year-old professional tennis player Jack Sock.

It started with the Lincoln native’s first tournament on grass in Newport, R.I., in early July, followed by the first U.S. Open Series events of his career in Atlanta and Los Angeles. His last three events also came in cities he’s never played in before — a Challenger in Vancouver, British Columbia, qualifying at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati and the Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina.

Ironically, Sock finally finds familiarity this week on this country’s biggest tennis stage — the U.S. Open, which begins Monday in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

A year ago, Sock became a fan favorite by combining with fellow American Melanie Oudin to win the mixed doubles title, his first Grand Slam title. As an 18-year-old, he also showed his potential as perhaps the next great American player by winning his first-round match in the singles and giving fellow Nebraskan Andy Roddick a competitive second-round match in prime time on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

He was there for the full two weeks of the tournament in 2010 as well when he won the U.S. Open junior title and played in the men’s draw, a spot reserved for winning the USTA 18s National Championship.

“I always love playing here,” Sock said by phone from New York City, where he’s spent the past week practicing and preparing for his first-round match against No. 22 seed Florian Mayer of Germany. “The fans are into it, and they really support the Americans. Hopefully I can make it into the second week again.”

Even though he and Oudin won the mixed doubles in 2011, he said the duo will need a wild card in order to defend their title. Sock said he’s playing men’s doubles with 2011 and ‘12 NCAA champion Steve Johnson, but will also need a wild card to get into that draw as well.

The fact Sock has hit 140 mph serves and 100 mph forehand passing shots this summer confirms he’s fully recovered from surgery he had in March to repair a torn muscle in his abdomen.

The only health issue he’s had was a gash to the head suffered while he was still in Lincoln in early June, an incident Sock described as a "freak accident." He cut his head open and needed staples to close the wound after banging it on a shelf getting tennis balls out of a storage shed at the NU Varsity Courts.

“Overall, it’s been a pretty positive summer,” Sock said. “It was great to be healthy and out playing again. I had some good wins, but there were also some down points, too. On balance, the experience and travel has been good.”

Sock’s older brother, Eric, a senior on the NU team, went with him to the first five tournaments before returning to school for fall classes. “It’s always good to have Eric there,” Jack said. “He gives me a ton of moral support, he’s a great guy to practice with and he knows how to keep me on track.”

Sock’s best showing was in Atlanta, when he reached the quarterfinals. He beat Russian Alex Bogomolov Jr., No. 51 in the world, in the first round and took out Johnson in two tiebreakers in the second round before dropping a 7-6, 6-4 decision to No. 11 John Isner. Sock is 6-6 in match play in the last six tournaments.

“I feel like my game is right on the verge of going to the next level,” said Sock, currently No. 248 in the world. “I’ve only been doing this (the pro tour) for a year, so it’s been a learning process for me. A lot of guys on tour can hit the ball. It’s the mental part of the game that separates you. That’s what I’m working on.”

On Friday, Sock and his first-round opponent were practicing on courts next to each other. He admitted to sneaking a few peeks of Mayer’s game to add to the scouting report.

“He plays a little different style,” he said. “He hits a lot of slice and flat balls, and that gives guys a lot of trouble. He knows what he’s doing, that’s why he’s No. 22 in the world.”